When the print meets the screen: Towards a model of L1 and L2 reading comprehension

Abstract

The spread of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has been changing literacy practices and activities. Consequently, the traditional view of literacy as the ability to read and write needs to be revised to encompass new forms of literacy called e-literacy, or “digital/silicon/electronic literacies” (Murray & McPherson, 2006, p. 132) as well as “hyperreading” (Usó-Juan & Ruiz-Madrid, 2009, p. 59). The members of the 21st century “global”, “fluid” and “networked” (Jewitt, 2008) societies engage in activities that the access to the WWW makes possible. The aim of the paper is to discuss print-based models of reading, identify similarities and differences between online and offline text comprehension, also with respect to the foreign/second language (L2) reading. Online texts entail the necessity to use different sets of skills and strategies which have to be incorporated into a model of electronic text comprehension. Suggestions as to what such a model might include, based on theoretical underpinnings and empirical findings, are presented.